Mark 4:1

The Parable of the Sower

1 Once again Jesus began to teach beside the sea, and such a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people crowded along the shore. ¹

Mark 4:1 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 4:1

And he began again to teach by the sea side
He went out of the house where he was at Capernaum, the same day he had the above discourse with the Scribes and Pharisees, and on which his mother and: brethren came to speak with him; and from thence he went where he had been before, and taught the people; namely, to the sea side, the shore of the sea of Galilee, or Tiberias:

and there was gathered unto him a great multitude;
which followed him from the house, and from other parts of the city, and perhaps from the adjacent places:

so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea;
in the ship at sea, at some little distance from the shore; the sea of Tiberias being rather a lake, and within land, had no tide, and so was still and quiet:

and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land;
stood on the land, all along the sea shore; (See Gill on Matthew 13:1), (See Gill on Matthew 13:2).

Mark 4:1 In-Context

1 Once again Jesus began to teach beside the sea, and such a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people crowded along the shore.

2 And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said,

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.

4 And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.

Cross References

• 1. (Matthew 13:1–9; Luke 8:4–8)